How To Choose Faith Over Fear

Some things are easier said than done. Like when the new year comes around and you become committed to taking better care of yourself. All the new and pretty exercise gear is on sale and you redo your schedule to fit going to the gym a few days a week. You even find a way to convince your husband to try this new diet with you so you can keep each other motivated to being a better you.

Yet, as time goes on, the winter weather continues to be unkind, and the busyness of life continues, you lose focus. Your choice to focus on your health and well-being was a great one, yet consistently making that choice daily and over time is not so easy. The same can be said with choosing faith over fear.

We know what the right choice is because who can forget.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,
but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Yet like with so many things simple knowing something is not good enough. We have to do something with that knowledge. Like on those mornings when staying snuggled in your bed feels so much better than braving the cold to go work out. Not that there is anything wrong with getting the rest you need and snuggling up. It is simply about choice. If your health and well-being are priorities and important to you then you have to make choices that align with that.

The same goes for your faith. Faith is like a muscle. It has to be used and exercised to strengthen and grow. We have to choose to walk in faith. In order to do that we have to do three things.

First, Acknowledge That Fear Is Real

This seems so simple, yet it something that is not so easy for us to acknowledge. It is almost as if we do not acknowledge it, it is not there. By how do you fight or overcome something if you do not first acknowledge that it is there?

Fear is something that the Bible talks about often. Both in acknowledging it and what to do with it.

When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
Psalm 56:3 (ESV)

It is not a question of if, but when. You will and have experienced real fear, both big and small. So by first acknowledging that fear is real, you can take the first step in choosing not to give in to that fear.

Then, Acknowledge What Your Fears Are

Now, this is often the hardest for us to do. We all want our faith to be bigger than anything else in our lives. However, there are times and things in life that we face that can overshadow our faith. These things can often be unspoken or unacknowledged fears.

Acknowledging and speaking of our fears does not give them power. It gives us the power to overcome and to choose faith over fear.

Examine and test and evaluate your own selves
to see whether you are holding to your faith
and showing the proper fruits of it.
2 Corinthians 13:5a (AMPC)

This examination is something that allows us to pull off our own masks and truly get to the heart of the matter. If we cannot be honest and open with ourselves, then who can we?

I can remember when I was preparing to get married and when I was a newlywed. I was excited and committed to making my marriage work. However now, I can acknowledge my devotion and commitment to working on my marriage was rooted more in fear than faith. I did not grow up seeing or knew of too many strong and healthy marriages. So I know that was something that I wanted, but I did not know what that looked like.

It was not until I truly examined my motivations and I was more fearful of my marriage failing than I was faithfully trusting that God would sustain it. That fear was motivating me, but it could not sustain me. So once I was able to acknowledge that fear, I was then able to make a choice on what to do with that fear.

Would I continue to live with that fear and let it motivate and even dictate my actions? Or would I acknowledge the fear for what it was and take the next and most important step in choosing faith over fear?

Now, Give It All To God

This is where freedom really comes in and where you truly put your faith in action. Because in order for us really choose faith over fear we have to give those fears to the One we have our faith in.

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Psalms 34:4 (NLT)

God is there, listening, faithful, and true. He wants to bring out and cast all of our fears and burdens on Him.

This is also not a one-time thing. We are to come to God daily seeking, praying, and taking steps to grow in our faith. Overcoming our fears with faith is not the end of the story, but only the beginning. As we learn to see fear as real, recognize our fears, and give them all to God, we are changed.

Changing from the woman you were to the woman God created you to be. A faithful, fearless, and uniquely beautiful woman who walks by faith because she knows exactly where her help comes from.

I’d love to hear about how you choose faith over fear in the comments!